India vs Australia | Australia names unchanged XI for the second Test in Perth

Australia trail Virat Kohli’s boys 1-0 on home soil and will definitely be under pressure to step up to the occasion and prevent going 2-0 down in the ongoing four-match Test series. Tim Paine & Co. will hope to battle the odds and give the visitors a run for their money as they gear up for the second Test which will be played Friday onwards.

Justin Langer has opted to go for an unchanged XI for the second game as the Aussie coach trusts his squad to put up a good show against the in-form Indians. Paine, who suffered a finger injury in the first game, declared himself fit for tomorrow’s encounter as he backed under-fire pacer, Mitchell Starc, to come through for the home team.

“Yeah, no I’m fine. I’ve got a few niggles everywhere but I’m not alone there, I don’t think, at my age. Finger is fine, yeah.

“Starcy’s been good for us. I thought the criticism he got this week’s been pretty unfair to be honest. Barring two or three overs where he got his radar wrong, I think he’s bowled pretty well. We know his best is the best so we’re pretty pumped to have him in our team,” Paine said at a news conference.

Australia, who are still without Steve Smith and David Warner, will look to Aaron Finch and newcomer Marcus Harris for inspiration at the top order. 

“He just needs that one big score at test level to give him that confidence he has at international level in T20s and ODIs,” Paine added.

The Aussies have never lost a Test series to India on home soil and will hope to preserve that record over the course of the coming month or so.

Team: Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (captain), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.

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